A Crushed Couple
by MWolfL
Summary: Tino and his friends have entered a competition to win free passes to Tesla Park, but during it Lor falls down a cliff! Later, it looks like Tino and Lor will have to find new people to crush on... TinoXLor and later CarverXTish
1. Mistake During a Marathon

SATURDAY

A crowd was talking amongst themselves in the woods. It wasn't a gigantic crowd, just one of those slightly large crowds that makes outsiders wonder what's going on. Of course, with a crowd like that sometimes it can be a little confusing to figure out who to ask. That problem was solved once a familiar face showed up:

"Oh hi!" Tino Tonitini smiled, the background suddenly becoming gray. "You're probably wondering what's going on...well, the people of Bahia Bay have set up a marathon to sponsor cancer awareness. This marathon, unlike most others, is a partner race. Teams of two race to the finish, the prize being four lifetime passes to Tesla Park. Naturally, Lor, Carver, Tish and I automatically signed up. Lor and I have teamed up, while Tish and Carver teamed up. You know, 'brain with brawn'."

"Hey Tino come on!" Lor called out.

"Whoops, the race is about to start, gotta go!" Tino left, the background regaining color.

Tino and his friends got into position at the starting line.

"On your mark...get set...go!" Mrs. Duong fired the starting gun.

This time she wasn't pregnant, she already had her two children. You see this was actually taking place a year after the series.

The racers ran, Tino and Lor as well as Tish and Carver somewhere in the middle. Of course Lor could have outrun most of the other competitors, but racers had to stay near their partners or be disqualified. The race continued through the woods and towards the mountains. There were three paths, two through the woods and one through the mountains. When Lor and Tino reached this crossroad they stopped.

"Hm, which way to go?" Tino pondered.

"Well, I think all the roads lead to the finish line, and it looks like the rest of the racers are continuing through the woods." Lor noticed. "Let's take the mountain path! We won't have any competition and can go as fast as we want!"

"I don't know, I think the other racers are avoiding the mountain path for a good reason." Tino hesitated.

"Come on!" Lor insisted, dragging Tino towards the mountain path.

Tino had to give in, so he and Lor ran through the mountain path until they noticed that the path was getting narrower. This explained something so obviously that the only way Tino could point it out was through his way:

"This must've been why the other racers avoided this path." He said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, all we have to do is slow our pace. We can use the mountain wall as a handrail." Lor chuckled.

They continued on, slowly making their way down the path. Suddenly, a bit of the path crumbled underneath Lor's foot, causing her to slide down the cliff!

"Tino!" Lor cried as she slid down.

Tino froze, not knowing what to do...

"Let's see, I could continue the race to get help, though that would disqualify us, or I can go down the cliff to try to save Lor myself and risk multiple broken bones and maybe even a concussion." Tino thought out loud. "Well, there's only one thing to do..." He left the scene.

He then suddenly came back, with a rope made out of vines he found.

"What?" He frowned, the background becoming gray again. "You really thought I was going to abandon a friend?"

The background turned back to color as he rappelled down the cliff. When he reached the bottom he saw Lor sprawled on the ground, unconscious but still alive. Fortunately, the cliff was not as high as Tino first thought.

"Lor?" Tino put a hand to her head; she only made a groaning noise.

Tino thought about what to do...eventually he decided that he was going to have to carry her to the finish line. He sighed exasperatedly, he wasn't the strongest member of the group.

He tried picking her up so that one arm supported her neck and the other supported her legs. It was difficult, but he managed it.

"Okay...suddenly I'm wishing...I got knocked out instead of her..." Tino grunted. "It, *phew*, would be easier for her to carry me than the other way around."

He continued carrying her down the path, until he reentered the woods. He heard someone coming...it was Tish and Carver! They stopped upon noticing Tino carrying Lor.

"What happened to Lor?" Tish asked, concerned, going over to them.

"She kinda fell down the cliff back there." Tino leaned against a tree. "I didn't want to leave her while she was unconscious so..."

"Boy, that must've been quite a workout." Carver commented.

"Was that a comment on my physique or Lor's weight?" Tino remarked sarcastically.

"Mostly your physique." Carver smirked. "But either way, it is hard for one human to carry another if they're around the same height."

"Come on Carver, we'd better help Tino." Tish said.

"Right."

Carver gently took Lor's legs, but Tino insisted on carrying her by the shoulders. He and Lor were still partners after all. Tish supported Lor's back, and the three of them awkwardly made it to the finish line.

There were murmurs among the crowds when they saw what was going on, The respective parents of Tino and his friends came down to them. This included Dixon - he and Tino's mom married a few months ago - and his daughter Moira. Dixon's last name was Atravesado (it means 'mixed breed dog' in Spanish).

"What happened?" Mr. McQuarrie asked.

Tino tried to explain, but was exhausted by this point and fainted. Tish explained instead as Tino's mom and new dad and sister kneeled next to him.

Lor's parents took over carrying Lor while Mr. and Mrs. Atravesado picked up Tino. They carried them over to a nearby cabin where racers were allowed to rest and refresh themselves.

Black turned to a small cloudy view, which slowly cleared until Mr. and Mrs. McQuarrie, Lor's grandma and Lor's brothers (don't know if it was all of them or not) were in view.

"Lor? Lor honey are you okay?" Mrs. McQuarrie asked, concerned.

Lor groaned, her head hurting a little, but managed to sit up.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You apparently slid down a cliff when you and Tino took the mountain path here." Mr. McQuarrie explained.

Lor looked around and saw that she was in a cabin. Then she saw Tino on a bed near her bed.

"Tino!" Lor gasped. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, he's just exhausted." Mrs. Atravesado smiled.

"Yup, he carried you most of the way here." Lor's grandma explained. "Tish and Carver later caught up with him and helped him carry you the rest of the way. Lot of guts that one."

Tino yawned and stretched as he got up.

"How are you feeling?" Dixon asked.

"A lot better, how's Lor?" Tino asked.

"See for yourself." Lor chuckled.

Tino turned and saw Lor smiling at him.

"Glad to see you're awake, I was worried about you." Tino smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess the mountain path wasn't a smart idea after all." Lor rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Thank you, by the way, for getting me down here. I mean Tish and Carver later helped too, but you obviously did most of the work."

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel comfortable leaving you out in the wilderness alone." Tino shrugged. "I mean there are bears, coyotes, bobcats..."

"Uh, coyotes and bears would have left her alone." Mrs. Atravesado pointed out. "Bears only attack when threatened and coyotes are more scared of us than we are of them."

"Oh."

"Hey, good to see you two are all right." Carver said, entering the cabin.

"I am also acutely relieved." Tish agreed, following Carver inside.

"Tish, please, my head still hurts a little." Lor groaned.

Tish rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything in case Lor was being sincere and not just teasing her use of sophisticated words.

They hung out a bit longer, just talking. Since neither team won the tickets they planned out tomorrow. They decided to just relax and do their usual things: junk food at the beach, visit the museum, lunch at that pizza place, etc.


	2. Double Heartbreak

A.N. This chapter actually was inspired by a story I found about two secondary characters falling in love. It was written by BeeKay84 and made me think that the secondary character pairing could work. However I wanted to do a different version of it, since I'm no copycat (I'm a dog person anyway *chuckle*). Obviously, there will also be different results.

SUNDAY

Tino had gotten to the beach first, and got everyone's usual: Chug-A-Freezes, Carver's corn dog, Lor's nachos, Tish's pressed-asparagus patti-burger, and his eggroll taco. Lor then showed up.

"Got the usual again huh?" Lor chuckled.

"Yeah, well, good friends know what their friends are gonna order, great friends go ahead and get it for them." Tino chuckled back.

Lor then froze with shock, and dropped her mouth open.

"What?" Tino asked, confused.

Lor didn't say anything, she just pointed past Tino. Tino turned and saw what had shocked Lor: Thompson and Tasha were hanging out as a couple! Seriously, they were holding hands and smiling at each other. The biggest blow came when Thompson and Tasha kissed. Tears formed in Lor's and Tino's eyes and they ran off. They ended up running past Tish and Carver, who both turned around and stared after them.

"Huh, what was that about?" Carver asked, confused.

Tish turned around and put a hand to her mouth.

"The answer is right in front of us." Tish said.

Carver turned around and saw Thompson and Tasha together. He got what had happened.

"Aw man, what a harsh blow." He winced.

According to tabloids, the shoe model he had a crush on started dating this guy so Carver knew how Lor and Tino must be feeling. Carver got over his-crush-dating-someone-else-pain quickly because he knew that the shoe model didn't even know of his existence and he figured that once they do meet she would dump her current boyfriend to be with him. False hope yes, but it did prevent the pain from continuing at the moment. His friends however knew that there was a slim chance at Carver and the shoe model meeting, and an even slimmer chance at them becoming a couple, so they hoped that Carver would fine someone more accessible before he would realize that.

"We'd better check on them." Tish said, starting to leave.

"Wait a minute." Carver went to get the junk food Tino left behind; fortunately none of it fell onto the ground. "Can't let these go to waste, especially since Tino obviously bought them."

"Right, maybe a little junk food will be comforting for them." Tish nodded.

They both left.

Meanwhile, Tino and Lor ran inside their respective houses, not even bothering to shut the doors behind them. Well, at least not the front doors. Luckily for Lor, her brothers were busy out playing sports so she didn't have to worry about them bugging her. Her grandma saw her run inside though.

Lor fell onto the bed, crying. There was a knock on the door.

"Lor?" A familiar voice said.

Lor stopped crying enough to be able to speak.

"You can come in grandma."

"What happened?" Lor's grandma asked, concerned.

"I-It's Thompson. He has a girlfriend." Lor sobbed.

"Oh, I'm really sorry." Lor's grandma said sympathetically; she then sighed. "That's why crushes are called that: you get crushed in the end."

"So then why do we get them?" Lor frowned.

"Because our bodies are getting used to falling in love, and they still have a lot to learn." Lor's grandma explained before chuckling: "Remember, it wasn't too long ago that you and your friends were at the 'boys or girls are yucky stage'. Excluding friends you made previously of course."

Lor couldn't help but chuckle too. Her grandma was right, a little over a couple years ago or so she and her friends did think that members of the opposite gender were gross and couldn't imagine themselves falling in love.

"So, who is Thompson dating?" Lor's grandma asked.

"Tasha, Tino's crush." Lor sighed. "Actually he was there when I found out, so he got hurt around the same time I did."

"Oh. Well maybe you should go recover with him. You know the old saying: misery loves company." Lor's grandma suggested. "That and it would be hard to continue recovering once your brothers get home..."

"Good point." Lor nodded. "Okay, I'll call if I end up staying at Tino's for dinner...which won't be too likely considering his mom's cooking. Of course if his step-dad is cooking that'll be a different story."

Meanwhile, Tish and Carver went to Tino's. Since he bought the junk food they wanted to deliver his meal first. They told Tino's mom what had happened, though they really didn't need to since she had already guessed. She did have that ability to read minds after all, at least her son's mind. So far it hasn't evolved to include her new husband and daughter, but they had a feeling it wouldn't take long.

"Tino's upstairs?" Carver guessed knowingly.

"Yes, I don't think he's in the mood for visitors." Mrs. Atravesado said. "I'll let him know that you two sent him your sympathies."

Tish and Carver nodded and left. With both Tino and Lor heartbroken they decided to just spend the day together. They did and ended up enjoying each other's company. Mrs. Atravesado put Tino's meal in the fridge and then went upstairs to his room.

"Tino?" She knocked on the door. "Honey I know you're hurt about Tasha but it helps if you talk about it."

"Fine." Tino managed to stop crying.

Mrs. Atravesado walked in.

"I'm sorry Tasha is now dating Thompson." She said sympathetically, sitting down on Tino's bed.

"Aw great, you can read my mind that well?" Tino frowned, still upset.

"Actually Tish and Carver told me, they stopped by to drop off your eggroll taco and Chug-A-Freeze and offer their sympathies."

"Oh right, forgot about that taco..." Tino muttered; he then sighed. "I don't get it, Tasha and I both like Captain Dreadnaught so why did she pick Thompson over me?"

"Well, two people don't need to have a lot in common in order to be together." Mrs. Atravesado said. "I mean look how different you and your friends are."

"Yeah but that's friendship-together, not dating-together."

"Doesn't matter, I mean you've of course heard the saying 'opposites attract' right?"

"Oh great, you mean to tell me that's actually true?" Tino scowled.

"A lot of the time yes, though there have been exceptions."

"Why couldn't Tasha and I have been one of the exceptions?"

"Well why do half of all marriages end in divorce? Or why do people date a whole bunch of other people before finally settling down with someone?" Mrs. Atravesado smiled.

"Because sometimes people make the wrong choices?" Tino shrugged.

Mrs. Atravesado continued smiling.

"You mean Tasha was a wrong choice?" Tino looked shocked.

"Well she is a wonderful girl and everything, but tell me: why did you pick her in the first place?"

"Well, she's cool looking, pretty, ended up liking Captain Dreadnaught..." Tino thought over.

"What about her personality?" Mrs. Atravesado smirked.

"Well...truthfully I didn't know her personality that well at first, though she did turn out to be a nice person..." Tino got it. "Oh, you mean I picked her for the wrong choices, not that she was a wrong choice."

"Exactly. You have to look deeper than the surface when choosing who you're going to spend the rest of your life with. And the fact remains: your feelings for her were nothing more than a crush. And everyone knows crushes don't end happily unless those feelings become real instead of based on physical deatails."

"Ah."

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Mrs. Atravesado stood up and left the room.

There was a short silence. Mrs. Atravesado didn't come back upstairs but Lor showed up.

"Hi Tino."

"Hi, figured misery still loves company huh?" Tino said with a mild sarcasm.

"Yeah, actually it was my grandma's idea." Lor shrugged. "Plus if I can't be alone then the next best thing is to hang out with the one who got as hurt as I did."

"Good point. Say, where's mom?"

"She left to do some shopping. Where's your dad and sister?"

"Father-daughter outing." Tino explained. "We switch every weekend. Next weekend it's father-son and mother-daughter."

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause.

"So now what?" Tino asked.

"I dunno...TV?"

"Better than concentrating on our pain."

They went downstairs and turned on the TV. They then exchanged the advice they had gotten earlier.

"So I guess we picked the right people for the wrong reasons." Lor sighed.

"Yeah, I hope next time we don't pick the wrong people for the wrong reasons or...is it possible to pick the wrong people for the right reasons?" Tino scratched his head.

"Beats the heck out of me." Lor scrunched up so that her chin was resting on her knees. "I just hope that next time I can pick the right person for the right reasons, but how will I even know?"

"Mom might know the answer to that. And I'm with you, I do not want to experience another heartbreak. Ever."

They fell silent and continued watching TV. They switched between sports and Captain Dreadnaught, which were the only two good things on that did not have romance in it. After a short time Mrs. Atravesado came home.

"I bought ice cream for anyone who's been crushed. Double-chocolate." Mrs. Atravesado smiled as she walked into the kitchen.

"Sounds good to me." Lor said.

"Me too." Tino nodded.

They left for the kitchen and got a big bowl of ice cream each. They then sat back down and continued watching TV. Lor surprised herself by realizing that Captain Dreadnaught actually was entertaining once you got past the repeated lines.

"So, Mrs. Atravesado, how can I fall in love next time without getting hurt?" Lor asked as Mrs. Atravesado walked into the room.

"Well, you're kinda young to know how to really prevent it. The fact is a lot of people date different people over the years, especially during high school."

"Yeah but I want to avoid all that. The pain is too much." Lor admitted. "I just want to find the one I can be happy with for the rest of my life."

"And you haven't even started high school yet..." Mrs. Atravesado was surprised.

"I'm with Lor." Tino agreed. "I know we're still really young but there has to be a better way."

"Well, the next time you develop feelings for someone go over the reasons." Mrs. Atravesado advised. "If the reasons aren't good enough forget about it and look for someone else."

"I guess that works." Lor shrugged.

"Too bad life isn't like fairytales where you find your true love almost instantly after defeating a monster or at least a person who acts like a monster." Tino muttered sarcastically; Lor chuckled in agreement.

After that, Tino and Lor started to feel better. At least better enough to find Carver and Tish - after they finished their ice cream - and play a few rounds of pool with them.

During the following week Tino and Lor had recovered enough to act normally during school. After school they moped a little, still longing to find 'the one', and even vocalized it to Tish and Carver a few times. Carver, upon learning about picking people for either right or wrong reasons, thought about his crush on the shoe model. He realized that he didn't even know her very well, and so decided to look for someone else until they could meet. Fortunately, he had learned to be less shallow during the past year so it shouldn't be too hard for him.


	3. Memories and Friendships Restored

SATURDAY

Tino was out walking when he turned towards us. The background became gray.

"Oh hi, thought that since I'll be lonely for a while I'd better head for a place where it would be nice to be alone." Tino smiled. "So I'm heading to the old hangout. You know, the one I couldn't convince my friends to return to due to their rottenly poor memory of the place... Sorry, still a little sore by that. Oh well, maybe I can talk them into letting me lead them to the place as a birthday present next year..."

The background regained it's color, and Tino continued walking. Lor, who had decided to get some basketball practice in, noticed Tino walking. Since his back was turned towards her, plus the fact that he was a block away, Tino didn't notice Lor in return.

"Where is he going?" Lor asked herself.

For reasons unknown to her, she followed him without making her presence known.

Tino was so lost in his memories of the fun he and his friends had at the old hangout that he didn't even become suspicious of someone following him. So, Lor was able to continue following him without getting caught...even when they started on the trail that led to the old hangout.

"_Wait a minute, I remember this trail._" Lor thought. "_This is the trail that was supposed to lead to that old place Tino claimed we used to hang out at. Why is he...wait, could the place be real after all? Or is he just pulling a trick on me?_"

When they got within ten feet of the place Lor stopped as Tino continued until he disappeared behind the rocky wall. After a few minutes, Lor took a breath and continued following Tino. Then, to her shock, she saw the old hangout! Lor dropped her mouth open, and suddenly memories of playing there with her friends filled her mind. Lor then felt bad for not believing Tino, as well as for forgetting one of the best spots the four of them ever visited. After a few minutes, she saw Tino lying in the grass nearby.

"Tino!" She called.

Tino shot up, startled, and turned around.

"Lor!" He gasped. "Were you following me this whole time?"

"Yeah, I was wondering where you were going. Tino I'm so sorry, I should've believed you about this place."

"Aw it's okay, I'm just glad you're here now." Tino smiled.

Lor went closer and sat down near him, putting her arms around her legs.

"I can't believe I forgot about this place...it used to be my favorite place in all of Bahia Bay." Lor rested her chin on her arms.

"Yeah, mine too." Tino continued smiling. "Say, you remember the animal friends you made? You always seemed to get along better with animals than with humans...not counting friends I mean."

"I'm starting to remember...especially this fawn I became close with. I think the poor thing lost his parents but fortunately was cared for by the rest of the herd." Lor now started to smile. "Let's see...I think I called him Sport, since I was really starting to get into sports at the time. Beforehand I was unsure due to my brothers playing sports so often...I always wanted to be different from them."

"Yeah, that's why you don't tackle anyone when you're not playing football." Tino chuckled.

Lor chuckled too.

"Yeah, Sport, I remember him too. He trusted you a lot, and I think even trusted me a little. He was always wary around Tish and Carver though." Tino remembered.

"Yeah, well, I think Tish's glasses scared him and Carver was always a little...what's the word?"

"Show-offish?"

"Yeah." Lor nodded. "I'm glad he's started to mellow."

"Me too."

"I wonder what happened to Sport?"

"Oh I'm sure he's still around somewhere...very few humans ever come here if any."

"True."

A.N. I made Lor animal/nature friendly due to the fact that she used to be very insensitive with humans. I didn't want her to come across as entirely compassionless so I gave her a redeeming quality.

Tino then saw something past Lor, over to where the woods were located.

"In fact...I think he's right there." Tino became wide-eyed.

Lor turned and saw what Tino saw: a great stag. She dropped her mouth open, even more so when the stag slowly approached them. Lor and Tino didn't get up or move closer, they didn't want to scare him off. Eventually the stag was close enough to Lor for her to touch him. She looked into his eyes.

"Sport?" She said, not ready to believe it.

The stag nuzzled her! She suddenly hugged him.

"Sport it is you!" Lor said happily. "I'm sorry for being away so long, I just got caught up in so many things that I actually forgot about this place."

She eventually let go, and the stag turned to Tino. He didn't nuzzle him, but he did bow a little so that Tino could pet his muzzle.

"Wow, I guess elephants aren't the only animals that never forget." Tino remarked.

"Or that dogs are the only animals who know loyalty." Lor added. "Say, remember that very timid fawn that I convinced Sport to become friends with? I wonder what happened to him?"

Sport then turned around. Tino and Lor followed his gaze and saw a timid doe and two fawns standing at the edge of the woods. Sport made a sound, and the fawns raced to catch up to him. The doe still stayed at the edge of the woods, but gave in and followed the fawns when Sport made another sound. She seemed familiar too.

"Uh, I think you mean 'her'." Tino corrected awkwardly.

"Wha-" Lor was stunned. "You mean that fawn was a female and I ended up getting her and Sport together as-"

"Apparently so."

The two fawns greeted Tino and Lor happily, but the doe was still wary. Sport gently nudged her closer, allowing Lor to pet her. The doe relaxed, but still stayed near Sport.

"I think you have three more deer to name." Tino said.

"Yeah...I think I'll name the doe Violet and the two fawns Nick and Chip. They look just like their father did when he was a fawn."

"Good names." Tino smiled approvingly.

He and Lor slowly got up, now knowing that Sport wasn't scared of them. Violet backed away a little, but Sport and Nick and Chip stayed. After Lor and Tino were standing Nick and Chip rubbed themselves against Lor and Tino. Sport just stayed still.

Suddenly, he got closer to Tino and gently butted him closer to Lor! The sudden movement cause Tino to almost knock Lor over, but he managed to recover and catch her with an arm before she fell. This resulted in the two of them staring at each other for a few moments, blushing. They then realized that they were still in that awkward position and quickly straightened up.

"Uh, sorry Lor..." Tino was still blushing.

"No it's okay, it was Sport's fault." Lor cut in. "Sport why did you do that?"

Sport only tried gently nudging Tino closer to Lor.

"Uh, why is he...?" Tino asked, confused.

"Beats me..."

Tino had to move closer to Lor since Sport's antlers were kinda hurting his legs. When Tino and Lor were close enough for their legs to be touching, Sport stopped nudging Tino.

"It's like he wants us to stay close together." Tino realized.

"Yeah...oh no." Lor blushed again.

"What?"

"I think Sport is trying to repay me for setting him up with his wife."

"Wha-oh." Tino got it, and blushed again.

"Oh Sport, it's sweet that you're that grateful to me, but romance isn't that simple with humans." Lor said gently. "Humans, for one thing, don't always end up with their best friend."

Sport looked disappointed, and maybe a little annoyed.

"Don't worry Sport, someday I will find someone and then I can introduce him to you and your family." Lor smiled. "You can have more friends that way."

A growling noise was heard.

"Shoot...forgot to pack a lunch." Tino said, embarrassed.

"Me too...let's get some pizza."

"Good idea."

"Bye Sport, we'll see you later." Lor waved as she and Tino left. "Bye Violet, bye Nick, bye Chip!"

Sport watched them leave, still looking disappointed and annoyed.

"You wanted them to end up together dear?" Violet asked him in deer language.

"Of course! If they could only see it..." Sport sighed.

"They're meant to be?" Violet guessed.

"Yes, those two were always close, even back when they were little." Sport explained. "Oh well, humans can be hard to reason with. I remember back when Lor was little she climbed a tree despite my trying to stop her. She fell, poor thing, but fortunately didn't fall far enough to be badly hurt."

"It's amazing how you can understand them." Nick said.

"It's thanks to Lor, she used to talk to me so often that I learned how to understand humans through her." Sport smiled. "Well, maybe I can convince them next time they visit."

"I hope so, it's thanks to Lor that we're together." Violet nuzzled Sport. "Say, I have an idea!"


	4. Love In a Woods

SUNDAY

Tino, Lor, Carver, and Tish were eating pizza at the usual place. This time it was called Pizza of the Jungle. The waiters were dressed up like Tarzan and swinging from vines. The tables and chairs looked like stumps, and there was jungle sounds playing in the background. Heck, there were even parrots there in cages.

"I wonder how they got the parrots here?" Carver asked.

"Rented them from the zoo?" Tino guessed dryly.

"I hope they return the parrots to their rightful habitat after they're done with this theme." Tish said.

"I'm sure they will." Lor smiled.

"So where were you two yesterday? Tish and I were looking all over for you." Carver said.

"We were at the old wilderness hangout." Lor said casually before taking a sip of soda.

Tish and Carver dropped their mouths open.

"Yeah I went there to have some quiet time and Lor saw me and followed me there." Tino chuckled.

He and Lor then took turns describing the place and about Sport. They left out Sport playing matchmaker though, for obvious reasons. Tish and Carver fell silent and slowly started to remember the place. Not very well though, but they did remember Sport and that he didn't like them very much. However, Lor had already explained why to them back when they were little so they weren't offended by the memory. It was too late to head back to the old hangout that day so they decided to take a trip next weekend. As for today, they were going to do the usual, starting with a round of pool.

SATURDAY

After packing a lunch each they met up and walked towards the old hangout. When they arrived Tish and Carver dropped their mouths open again.

"I forgot how picturesque this place was." Tish said, awed.

"Wow, now I'm really starting to remember hanging out here." Carver smiled. "Hey Tino, bet I can beat ya in rock-skipping again!"

"No way!" Tino laughed.

The two raced off to see who could win at rock-skipping this time. Tish and Lor walked around the edge continuing to admire the scenery. When they got back Carver was frowning and Tino was cheering. No guesses who won.

"Yeah! My practicing horseshoes must've improved my rock-skipping skills!" Tino leapt joyfully.

"Geez, some things don't change and some things really do change." Carver remarked, still disappointed but not a sore loser.

"Way to go Tino!" Lor pumped a fist.

"You always take Tino's side huh?" Tish smirked.

"Yeah, well, he's clever and loves nature like I do." Lor retorted good-naturedly. "So what? You always take Carver's side."

"Er, well, he has a flair for fashion and a cool attitude." Tish flustered a little. "Oh!"

Startled, Tino, Carver, and Lor turned to where Tish was staring and saw Sport standing at the edge of the woods. Sport jerked his head into the woods.

"Huh, I guess Sport wants Lor and I to follow him." Tino shrugged.

"No problem, I just remembered that there was a spot Tish and I liked to hang out at, we'll meet you back here later." Carver waved.

"Cool, see ya later!" Lor waved.

Tish waved back with a smiled.

Lor and Tino followed Sport into the woods. Now and then Sport would slow down to make sure that Tino and Lor were still on his tail before taking off again. After a few minutes they saw Sport standing still in front of a cluster of leaves and looking at them. As they got closer, Sport pulled back some of the leaves with his antlers to reveal a beautiful sight: a waterfall in a little flower-filled area! The waterfall was smaller than the main one, but still beautiful, and the flowers were of all shapes and sizes. At the bottom of the waterfall was a small pond that slowly flowed into the larger pond outside the woods, due to a pile of rocks blocking most of the flow. This allowed various small fish to live in the pond. Tino and Lor smiled at the sight, but their smiles turned to a looks confusion when they realized that Sport had gone. Since they didn't know the woods very well, due to not exploring it often when they were little, they decided to sit on a large rock near the pond and wait for him. While they were waiting they started talking, just random subjects. Suddenly, the sound of birds singing filled the air.

"What the...?" Tino looked around, not seeing any birds.

What he and Lor didn't know was that Violet had asked the birds to sing a sweet song for them while staying hidden in the trees.

"Wow, I hope developers never find this place." Lor smiled. "This is cool."

"Yeah...maybe we can find out who owns this section of the mountains and try to buy it or something." Tino suggested.

Lor looked at him, surprised.

"Really? You think we could?" She asked.

"Well if all four of us work together...of course."

Lor suddenly hugged him.

"I'm glad you care about nature as much as I do." She said happily.

"Well, I may be scared of insects but I do know they're important..." Tino chuckled awkwardly. "Oh heck, of course I care about nature. Nature provides many good things, and isn't bad to look at either." He hugged her back.

They stayed in that hug for a while. When they parted a little they found themselves looking in each other's eyes. That's when they got a big shock: they were starting to re-feel the feelings they had for their previous crushes! Only this time, their feelings felt stronger than usual.

"Wha...what's happening?" Lor said, a little nervous.

"I think Sport tricked us into..." Tino couldn't bring himself to say it.

They stayed like that, frozen, until their feelings became too strong. Lor ended up finishing Tino's sentence:

"Falling in love."

At that, they kissed. They couldn't believe, the feelings they felt for their previous crushes were now being felt for each other but stronger. As they got used to it they realized that what they felt for each other was too strong and pure to not be true.

It took a few minutes, but they eventually broke free. No words were needed, they knew that they were meant to be. The only thing was: how were Carver and Tish going to react?

"Now what?" Lor asked.

"I think we should talk to Carver and Tish about this." Tino sighed.

They reluctantly left...and saw that Sport had returned. It may have been their imagination, but they thought they saw a smirk on his face. Either way, it was obvious that Sport was thinking 'I told you so'.

"Thank you Sport, you were right." Lor hugged him.

"You are a good sport, Sport." Tino chuckled. "Thanks for not gloating."

Lor gave Tino a half-amused/half-annoyed look. Sport seemed a little amused too.

Sport then led them out of the woods, back to Carver and Tish. There they got a big surprise: Carver and Tish were kissing! Tino and Lor dropped their mouths open.

"Guys!" Tino gasped.

Startled, Carver and Tish broke free and turned to Tino and Lor, blushing. Suddenly, Tino and Lor started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Tish asked, sounding hurt.

"It's just...Tino and I kissed just a few minutes ago." Lor explained, still laughing.

Carver and Tish now dropped their mouths open, shocked, and then they started laughing too. Soon all four of them were on the ground laughing hard.

"So...I guess...none of us needs to worry about...telling the other about becoming a couple. We're all cool with it." Carver said, calming down.

"Yeah, this works out great." Tish smiled. "We can still hang out together as a group, even on Valentine's Day."

"So...what led to you two becoming a couple?" Lor asked.

Tish and Carver took turns explaining, and then asked Tino and Lor the same thing. Tino and Lor explained, and included what Sport did the prior weekend. Afterward, it was getting late so they decided to head home. Their families found out and supported their children. As for other characters, well, they either shrugged it off or were supportive of it. Neither Tino or his friends ever had to worry about dealing with a jealous person.

A.N. Now, the thing about Carver and Tish's relationship is that I became entirely stumped about how to portray it. Like the worse case of writers' block. So, I was thinking that fans of _The Weekenders_ could do their own interpretations of what Carver and Tish were doing and talking about while Tino and Lor were in the woods, what they were doing when Tino and Lor were recovering from heartbreak, and what they were doing when Tino and Lor were at the hangout the prior weekend. Anyone is welcome to type up their own version, as long as it stays true to my story (like mentioning Sport or at least the hangout). Oh, and it must be kid friendly. No T or M rated details, but K+ is perfectly okay.


	5. Times Change, But Weekenders Don't

LATER

The weekends didn't change too much, just had more romance to them now. Despite that, Tino and his friends did the usual hanging out and snacking. The only time their routines ever changed was on weekend nights or Valentine's Day. That was when they actually dated rather than just hang out. This continued into high school.

Things started to really change closer to the end of high school, since they were all going to different colleges. Lor got into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (mostly under basketball), and Tish got into Oxford to work in Shakespearean plays. Tino and Carver did really good too, but they didn't get into a four-year college right away. I mean of course Tino is smart, but he couldn't decide which college to go to, so he just went to a local community college while he decided. Carver got more into fashion, and so majored in that in community college while looking for a company to hire him.

As for the old hangout it turned out that it was government property, a bit of property that they had forgotten about. So, Tino decided to work for the National Resources Defense Council and promote that his and his friends' hangout be turned into a national park. He won, and the park was called Weekender Wilds. To his surprise he was made the Head Park Ranger of the place!

During all this Tino, Lor, Tish, and Carver never lost touch with each other. They always kept in contact, and made a pact to meet around the winter holidays each year. When Tino got their old hangout turned into a National Park his friends sent him letters of congratulations. Lor especially was happy, since she now didn't have to worry for Sport or his family's safety.

Eventually they got back together for good in Bahia Bay. Lor decided that she didn't want to travel all over playing sports if it meant staying apart from her friends for extended periods. Carver was able to find a fashion company around Bahia Bay that would hire him. Tish decided to work professionally in the old Shakespeare arena.

Later on, Lor and Tino got married. The unique thing about it was that, well:

Tino and Lor were on a date. After dinner and a movie Tino walked Lor home.

"I had a wonderful evening." Tino smiled.

"Me too, and it's about to get better...depending on what you say." Lor smiled back knowingly.

"What do you mean?" Tino asked.

They reached Lor's door by this point. Lor, who was wearing designer pants and a pretty top, kneeled and took something out of her purse. It was a ring box with a jewel-less gold ring inside.

"Tino, will you marry me?" She asked.

**Completely** caught off guard, Tino dropped his mouth opened and widen his eyes. Lor tried not to laugh as she saw his shocked expression.

"Wha-" Tino squeaked out; then he finally recovered and hugged her. "Of course I will!"

Lor hugged him back, and then after they broke apart she put the ring on his finger.

"Lor you...how long have you been planning this?" Tino laughed.

"A few weeks...dad helped me pick out the ring." Lor smiled; she then became confused as Tino continued laughing. "What in Bahia Bay is so funny?" She asked.

"This!" Tino continued laughing, pulling out a ring box!

Lor now dropped her mouth open.

"I was about to propose to you but you beat me to it!" Tino explained.

Now Lor started laughing. After they recovered she took the ring box from Tino and opened it to find a silver band with a round orange sapphire in the middle. Tino then put that ring on her finger. Then, what else? They kissed.

Both their families as well as Tish and Carver, were extremely happy for the couple, and also laughed when they heard about the double-proposal.


	6. Nature's Nuptials

The wedding was traditional, but non-religious. Tino and his mom lost the habit of celebrating the religious part of Christmas after she divorced Mr. Tonitini, so the Atravesados and the McQuarries agreed to not bring religion into the ceremony. Instead, the ceremony and reception was held at Weekender Wilds! Sport and his family knew why there were so many people there, since Lor and Tino warned them ahead of time, so they were okay with the huge crowd as long as not too many of them entered the woods. Tino and Lor, respecting Sport and his family's privacy, made the woods a restricted area under the reason that they didn't want anyone to get lost.

After the reception Lor, Tino, Tish, Carver, and their families were the last to leave. Now Sport and his family came out into the open, startling Tino's family as well as his friends' families. Lor and Tino approached Sport, Violet, and Chip and Nick, who were both grown stags by this point. Nick and Chip had families of their own now.

"Thank you Sport, you gave Tino and me a wonderful future and we'll never forget it." Lor smiled.

"Yeah, we'll be visiting often...well I will visit every day since I work here now but...you know what I mean." Tino chuckled.

Lor chuckled too, and Sport and his family seemed to be laughing as well.

"But it will be a while until you see us again, a human tradition is after they get married they take a trip somewhere far away." Tino added. "We call it a honeymoon."

"But don't worry, after Tish, Carver, and our families we'll visit you and your family as soon as we get back." Lor smiled.

Sport nuzzled Lor, who hugged him.

Tino and Lor, the next day, left for their honeymoon in the eastern coast, mostly Florida. Tino's biological father couldn't make it to the wedding (partly due to his business and partly due to awkwardness since Tino's stepfather was there) so Tino and Lor decided to spend a bit of their honeymoon visiting him.

Mr. Tonitini was very happy to see his son and his new daughter-in-law, and they had fun hanging out during the two days Mr. Tonitini could get off. Before they left Tino and Lor gave Mr. Tonitini a DVD of the wedding so that he could enjoy the ceremony that way.

After the honeymoon Tino and Lor returned home and stayed true to their word. After meeting up with Tish, Carver, and their families they paid a visit to Sport and his family. By this time Sport was really old, making Lor doubly glad that Tino had managed to turn their hangout into a national park.

The following year, Tino and Lor had a son. He was the best of both his parents, inheriting his mom's athletic skills while acquiring enough of his dad's smarts to do very well in school years later. He also inherited his dad's sarcasm. His name was Hart, meaning stag. After all it was thanks to Sport that Tino and Lor ended up together. Well, it was mostly Violet's doing but since they couldn't speak deer Tino and Lor never found out that detail.

Tish and Carver later got married and had a daughter named Juliet. Juliet and Hart eventually became very close friends. Close enough that when they were teenagers they ended up together.


	7. A Bittersweet Separation

Sadly, Hart and Juliet never really got to know Sport or Violet like their parents did. When Hart and Violet were six they and their parents went for a picnic in Weekender Wilds:

Carver and Tino unrolled the blanket while Tish and Lor started to unpack the food. Hart and Juliet were playing tag while they waited for the food to be ready. A little while after the group started eating two stags appeared from the woods and went over to them. By this point Lor gave Sport and his family different collars so that others could tell them apart easily. Interestingly, Lor had always been able to tell the deer apart, even though they looked a lot alike.

"Hey, it's Nick and Chip, what are they doing here?" Carver asked. "I thought they were wary of Tish and I like their parents."

"Hey guys, is something the matter?" Lor asked Nick and Chip, realizing that it would take something important to get any of the deer to get close to Carver or Tish.

Nothing was said for a few moments. Lor just looked at Nick and Chip, specifically in their eyes.

"Oh no...guys something really is wrong Nick and Chip are really sad." Lor said.

Concerned, the others followed Lor, who was following Nick and Chip, into the woods. There they saw a sad sight: Sport and Violet were lying on their sides on the ground.

"No!" Lor gasped.

She ran over to Sport and Violet and checked for any vital signs. None, they were dead. Lor started crying while hugging Sport. Carver and Tish respectfully stayed behind, but Tino went over to comfort Lor. Hart and Juliet were confused at first.

"What's wrong with them?" Juliet asked.

"I'm afraid honey...that they're dead." Tish said, tears forming in her eyes.

Hart and Juliet looked shocked.

Chip's family - his wife Grace and daughter Daisy - and Nick's family - his wife Honey and son Pine - were there too. Hart and Juliet went over to them to comfort them, since they looked really sad. Hart was close with Pine while Juliet was close with Daisy.

"There there," Tino said sadly. "I'm really upset too Lor but you're forgetting: Sport and Violet did live a long time for their species. Most deer don't live to be ten but these two lived past twenty."

Lor stopped crying, realizing that Tino was right. Sport and Violet were lucky to live as long as they did, especially Violet since she was so delicate.

"I wonder why they lived so long." Carver thought aloud.

"Maybe it was because Weekender Wilds wasn't well known to humans back when we were kids." Tish suggested. "Animals do live longer when they aren't in constant danger, like from hunters."

"Or...maybe it was because of their friendship with me and Tino." Lor said.

Everyone stared at her, since this was a very profound thought for her. While Lor was no dummy she rarely had deep thoughts. In fact neither Carver, Tish, or even Tino ever remembered her having a deep thought before.

"You know...you may be right." Tish decided; Carver and Tino nodded in agreement.

Carver and Tish then left, packed up the food, walked down the path to their cars, and drove away. When they came back minutes later they had shovels. Lor and Tino smiled thankfully, took two of the shovels, and the four of them dug a huge grave near the edge of the woods. After they were done they took turns carrying Sport and Violet into the grave. After Sport and Violet were carefully laid in the grave so that they were facing each other Tino and his friends buried the hole. Lor then dragged a huge rock over and placed it over the grave. Using a sharper rock she carved onto the big rock:

SPORT AND VIOLET

TWO WONDERFUL DEERS

She then added the date. She, Tino, Carver, and Tish stood silently by the grave, remembering past moments with Sport and Violet. Chip, Nick, and their families joined them. Hart and Juliet stayed with Pine and Daisy, petting them or hugging them.

Tino and Lor never forgot Sport or Violet, and always kept a photo of the two on the mantelpiece over the fireplace. The photo was of Sport and Violet back when they were a young couple, back when Nick and Chip were still fawns. That was the way Tino and Lor always wanted to remember them: young and in love. They way Tino and Lor were now and continued thinking of themselves even after they became grandparents. As for Carver and Tish they never forgot Sport or Violet, but didn't keep a photo of them. There was no need, they had never been that close to Sport or Violet. Besides, they did visit Tino and Lor often and so almost always saw their photo.

When we last saw the Weekenders, they were all old and enjoying themselves at Weekender Wilds. The background suddenly became gray.

"Well, so many wonderful years has passed." Tino smiled to us. "And my friends and I are all glad that you were able to be here for those years. Unfortunately, I think this will be the last time we'll see each other, but you can still enjoy flashbacks of us. So, I guess I can't say my catch-phrase, but we can say:"

"EARLY DAYS!" Tino, Tish, Lor, and Carver waved to us as the screen zoomed out and became black...


End file.
